


PS 3307 
fl89 F7 

1900 

Copy 1 



g%g^j$%%^%;%%;%;%!%r';. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

?5\JT07 

Chap. Copyright No. 

Shelf. Ajl-V/ 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



rrom Mayflowers 
to Mistletoe 

A Year with the r lower rolK 



By ^ 

Sarah J. Day 



0. p. PUTNAH'S SONS 

New YorK and London 

tlbe IRntcIiecbocftec prese 

1900 



8iT}V 



Library of Congreaa 

Two Copies Received 
DEC 6 1900 

<* Copyright entry 

SECOND COPY 

Delivered to 

OWOiH DIVISION 

DFO 1fi1900 



3^ ^^n 



T^W 



^^^^ 



Copyright, igoo 

BY 

SARAH J. DAY 



Ube ftnicftecbocbet press, View l^otfe 



IN all those walks through garden, wood, and field 
Wherein my much delight is, I have found 
The flowers my choicest comrades ; and around 
The sprightly ways and wiles they ne'er concealed 
From me, assured of my sympathies, 
Fancy has woven the gentle histories 
Herein, for those who love such lore, revealed. 



Contents 



Prei,ude— Spring 

Hepatica . 

Mayei^owers . 

Wake-Robin 

Crocus 

Ground Pink . 

Tuwps 

Daffodil . 

jack-in-the-pui,pit 

May-apples 

Horse-Chestnut 

Wistaria . 

Dandelion 

Spring-Beauties 

Violet 

Columbine 

houstonias 

The Pansy Bed 

Squirrel-Corn 

Apple Blossoms 

Interlude— Early Summer. 

Buttercups 



PAGE 

3 
4 
5 
6 

7 
8 

9 

II 

12 

14 
15 
i6 

17 
i8 

19 
20 
21 
22 

23 
24 

25 
26 



VI 



Contents 



IvADY'S-SUPPER 

PERIWINKLE 

MORNING-Gl^ORY 

Mountain-Laurel 
ST. John's- Wort 
Daisies and Iris 
Clover 
Herb-Robert 
Sweet Peas 
Arethusa . 

WaTER-IvILY 

Wild Rose 

Blue-Eyed Grass 

A Family Feud 

Jewel-Weed 

Interlude— I/ATE Summer 

Wild Carrot . 

Garden Lilies 

Tiger Lilies . 

Yellow Star Grass 

Butter-and-Eggs 

Indian-Pipe 

Robin and Charlie 

Hollyhock 

Seaweed . 

sunelower 

Great Willow-Herb 

Trumpet-Flower 

BETTY AND Susan 



PAGE 
27 

28 
29 
30 
31 

33 
34 
35 
37 
38 

39 
40 

41 
42 

44 
45 
46 

47 
49 
50 
51 
52 
54 
55 
56 
58 
60 
62 
63 



Contents vii 

PAGE 

Cr,SMATis 64 

lNTERi<xn):e — Fai,i, 65 

Cardinai,-Fi,ower 66 

BRUNEI/I/A . . .67 

Marshmai,i,ow 68 

Nasturtiums 70 

Ci,osED Gentians 71 

Asters and Goi,den-Rod 72 

Cat-Taii3 . .73 

Sea-Lavender 74 

Legend op the Leaves - 75 

Mui,i,EiN Towers 77 

MlI^KWEED 78 

iNTERi-tiDE — Winter 79 

Bittersweet .80 

Cyclamen 81 

Two Legends of the Orange Tree ... 82 

Yellow Jessamine 84 

The Hymn of the Palm-Tree .... 85 

Poppies 88 

Baby Blue Eyes 90 

Holly 91 

Cherokee Rose . . . . . . .92 

Mistletoe 93 

Everlasting 94 

postlude 95 



jflower Xore for iflowcr Xovers 



lC>celuOe 

pROPHBCIES stirring the wood, 

Presciences felt in the air, 
Then vague misgivings and chilling mood ; 

When suddenlj^ everywhere 
There 's a mist of green on the trees. 

Soft skies over us, birds a-wing, 

Flowers at the wood's edge blossoming, 
And all in a moment, one feels and sees 

About him the marvel and rapture of spring. 



Ibepattca 

/^NE frosty day in March I strayed 
Along a woodland path I knew, 
And there I met a little maid 
With shyest, starry eyes of blue. 

Her ample cloak was lined with fur, 
Her grey-green tippet furry too ; 

" The wind is cold," I said to her ; 
Said she, " It may be, sir, ioryou." 



T N the old year leaves cradled as if on the arm 

Of their granddame, beneath the dry fir 
And pine needles, the Mayflowers wake rosy and 
warm, 
Cuddling close as they sleepily stir. 

For the ground is still frost}'-, the air is still bleak, 
And a grandmother's kindness well known ; 

So they pre^ very softly her withered brown cheek 
'Gainst the pink and white down of their own. 



Mafte^lRobin 

"\17AKE, robin, wake ! the spring is here, 

Behold the signal given : 
My petals fair in threes I bear, 
Three ways their golden star 's aflare, 
Thrice is my broad leaf riven. 

Wake, robin, wake! and sing us cheer. 

Freed from our long subjection ; 
The cold earth spread above our head. 
They mourned for us as for the dead, 
Sing thou our resurrection. 

Wake, robin, wake ! no need to fear 

Dull skies or snows hereafter ; 
The covering clods we bravely break 
To greet the sun ; wake, robin, wake ! 
And voice the triple sign I make — 

Life, loveliness, and laughter. 



Crocus 

'T'HK Crocus had slept in his little round house 

So soundly the whole winter through ; 
There came a tap-tapping, — 't was Spring at the 
door : 
" Up ! up ! we are waiting for you ! " 

The Crocus peeped out from his little brown house 

And nodded his gay little head ; 
" Good-morning, Miss Snowdrop ! and how do 
you do 

This fine, chilly morning ? " he said. 



GrounD ptnR 

\17HKRE lately lay the snow 

Young Spring doth blithely go, 
Her garments wafting sweet perfume. 

And lo, 
There springeth bloom 
Amid the grass, 
Soon as her rosy foot doth pass. 

In glowing tints of red. 
Where chanced that she did tread, 
These tender tufts through wood and hill 

Are spread ; 
And, lingering still. 
The fragrance sweet 
Her lovely presence left in its retreat. 



HTHRONGING through the mellow mould, 
When the frost has loosed its hold, 

Tiny Sheiks of haughty mien 
Stand in Orient pomp and sheen, 

Bringing from their lord the Sun 
Tidings of his course begun ; 

Telling of his royal pleasure 
Toward us soon his steps to measure. 

Richly stifE the robes of state 
Swathed about their forms elate, 

Gorgeously the turbaned heads 
Glow with mingled golds and reds. 

From of old they know their worth, 
These proud blooms of Eastern birth ; 
9 



) TLxdips 

Know their sires were often sold 
Far above their weight in gold ; 

Know — and who shall check their pride — 
Princes oft for them have vied. 

Fitting heralds these to bring 
Greetings from the Sun their King ! 



pv AFFYDOWNDILI.Y,the maid in the garden, 
The child at the wicket is looking for you. 
Bare are the meadows, unbudded the thicket, 

April still mingles the clouds with her blue ; 

Come to us, Daffodil, golden and true ! 

Daffydowndilly, I mind an old legend — 
Was it your brother Narcissus, or you, 

lyoved but himself and had ne'er loved another, 
Adroop o'er the river his image to view ? 
Must we, fair Daffodil, search there for you ? 

Nay, our gay Daffydowndilly. advancing — 
The truant — with dancing, ne'er languishing 
knew ; 
Dwells but in gardens, and makes them entranc- 
ing, 
Sunnily smiling and nodding at you, 
Whole-hearted Daffodil, merry and true ! 



5acft4ns=tbe*lptulpit 

O AID Jack the Parson, " Firstly, 

Dear brethren, I aver ' ' 
(As yet 't was early April 

And few the flowers astir) 
' ' That Promptness is a virtue 
I 'd fain on you confer. 

' ' But, secondly, ' ' he added, 
" lyest frowardness beguile," 

(A sudden, biting snow-squall 
Had swept the forest aisle), 

" Upon the claims of Prudence 
'T were well to pause awhile. 

" Then, thirdly," — from his pulpit 

He peered (on every side, 
Upsprung at last, the blossoms 



5acft*in*tbe*]Pulpit 13 

In gayest colours vied), — 

' ' I feel that I must warn you 

Against tlie sin of Pride. 

" And, lastly, Praise is comely 

And you may well desire ' ' 
(For now the woods were vocal 

Through chancel, nave, and spire) 
' ' To have my discourse ended 

And listen to the choir." 



T F you scan the wooded open 

Where some western hill-road crawls, 
You will spy the green umbrellas 
Of the apple-women's stalls. 

In a colony they cluster ; 

Peep beneath the spreading flaps, — 
If you see the little women 

Nodding, in their snowy caps, 

You will know that you are early, 

Not yet open is the stand ; 
Come in two months' time — you '11 find them 

With a stock of fruit on hand. 



14 



1l3orses»CbeBtnut 

O NOWS gone and winter over — 

How is it that we see 
Amid the bees and clover 
A mammoth Christmas tree ? 

Its great cone-tapers thickly 
Are set from bough to bough 

All straight and white, as quickly 
To be enkindled now. 

Soon will the bees discover 
They may not lighted be, 

And rifle — Christmas over, 
Snows gone — the idle tree. 



15 



Mistaria 

WEB of green with purple blooms 
Betasselled, drapes my arbour's frame 
Like some rare product of the looms 
In the rich East from whence it came. 

From arch to arch its folds are flung, 
From prop to prop its clusters droop ; 

And, as at princely portals hung, 
Whence lovely pageants soon shall troop, 

Its stirring wafts sweet odours through ; 

And then it seems that one might swing 
The shimmering green and pendulous blue 

Apart, and tread the courts of Spring. 



i6 



Dandelion 

"T* IS ^^ youth for war,'" O hearts of gold, 

And early ye the fields assail, 
Kncamped in squadrons, warriors bold. 
Resolved for Spring the land to hold, 
Kach crouched upon his lion's mail. 

' ' Old men for counsel, ' ' — so we find 

In Summer's senate halls ye stand 
In thronging groups of stately kind, 
Each snowy head to head inclined 
And wafting wisdom o'er the land. 



17 



Spring*3Beaitt!e5 

pRETTY maidens, white and pink, 
Blithely arm in arm they link. 
Swaying to a measure slow. 
Where the zeph3TS softliest blow 

'Neath the budding forest tree ; 

Such a dainty compan}', 

Young and flushed and fair to see ! 

But the pink and white will pale, 
White and pink were ever frail — 

Scarcel)^ worth the gathering ; 

E'er the vanishing of spring 
Beaut}'- will have ceased to be 
In that faded company 
'Neath the full-leaved forest tree. 



i8 



IDiolet 

O H Y little nun of the wood, 
Kneeling apart at prayer 
Hid in the folds of your purple hood,— 
How do I know you are there ? 

Straight to your low green cell 
The odour of incense leads ; 

And softly I step, for I know full well 
Sister Violet 's telling her beads. 



19 



Columbine 

r^OLTJMBINE is dancing, 

lyithesome, blithesome maid, 
Where the sun is glancing 
Through the wood's new shade, 
On her rocky ledges, 
Ivilting at their edges 
In a pose entrancing, 
Gayly unafraid. 

Columbine's arraying 

Bordered is with bells, 
Softly round her swaying 
Their many-clappered cells 
Coral-hued and golden ; 
As the mimes of olden 
Times she were essaying 
Danced with Punchinells. 



Iboustonlas * 

(Bi.uK'rs) 

r T ALF a dozen Quaker ladies, 

Straight and slim and small, 
In a sunny Berkshire meadow 
By a low stone wall : 

' ' Is thee come to yearly meeting ? ' ' 
" Yea." " And thee, too ? " " Yea." 

' ' Verily, and thee is early ! ' ' 
" Opens next First Day." 

And, in truth, the next May Sabbath 

All that meadow fair 
Scarce could hold the yearly meeting 

Set for session there ; 

In their little grey-blue bonnets 

Chatting, brim to brim, 
Half a million Quaker ladies, 

Straight and small and slim. 

* Reprinted from Youth's Companion. 

21 



QAID a little yellow Pansy to a Pansy big and 
"^ black : 

' ' They have put so many of us in this bed 
That my toes are getting cramped, there 's a sad 
crick in my back, 

And I really have n't room to turn my head." 

Said the Pansy big and black to the yellow Pansy 
small : 
" Don't fret ; I see young Alice coming out ; 
She will take some of us home with her and that 
will give us all 
A chance to stretch ourselves and look about." 



SquirreUCorn 

(bleeding-heart) 

T T AVK you seen the small coquette 
In tlie hollow of the wood, 

With the hearts in order set 
All along the slender rood 

Piercing through her wigwam's net ? 
There they dangle, trophy-wise, 
Done to death by her bright eyes. 

Tender hearts, a-quiver yet. 

Like the scalp-locks of a chief 
One by one she hangs them there 

High above the lace-like leaf 
Of her tent-flap. So beware 

Lest you too may come to grief ! 

From a savage race she 's sprung, 

Many a heart will yet be hung 
At her wigwam — have a care ! 



23 



Bpple Blossoms 

D OSY clouds upon the trees 

Resting, scatter to the breeze, 
To the breeze and o'er the ground, 
Petalled snowflakes soft and round. 
And the new grass murmurs low 
" Warm and fragrant is the snow." 

When that rosy cloud is gone, 
Melted by the nearing sun, 
All the branches feel bereft 
Knowing not their treasure left. 
But the swelling fruit germs know 
Whence their birth nor vain the snow. 

Thus, with all things, these assever 
' ' Beauty fruitless fadeth never. ' ' 



24 



fnteclude 

CRESHNESS and sweetness 
Of youthful completeness, 

Of life at its prime, 
Adorn this newcomer, 
The jocund young Summer, 

And we, in his time, 
Such days and such hours 
Know afield with the flowers, 

As 't were well to the chime 
Of fair music to fashion 

Enwoven in rhyme. 



25 



Buttercups 

TTHE; Buttercups with shining face 

Smile brightly as I pass; 
They seem to lighten all the place 
Like sunshine in the grass. 

And though not glad nor gay was I 
When first they came in view, 

I find when I have passed them by 
That I am smiling too. 



26 



(moccasin-fi,ower) 

\1/HEN the fairy Cinderellas, 

Tripping it before their Queen, 
Startled by the stroke of midnight, 

Fled in haste the moonlit scene, 
They their gold and broidered slippers 

I^eft behind them on the green. 

Straightway then the elfin butler, 
Sent to clear with care away, 

Gathering all the scattered slippers, 
Hangs them up in neat array 

Just within the shadowed woodland, 
" Where they grow," dull mortals say. 



27 



periwinkle 

iWl Y pretty Perry Winkle 

Wears a glossy coat and new, 
And he has a merry twinkle 
In his sunny eyes of blue. 

He runs about my garden 

With his wild and winning ways ; 
Not a " By your leave " or " Pardon," 

When across my beds he strays ; 

So, wherever I may turn me, 
I have learned without surprise 

To meet the merry twinkle 
Of my Perry Winkle's eyes. 



28 



/IDornina*(Blor^ 

A PASSION for athletic sports 

Once seized upon the flowers ; 
In twining, climbing, balancing, 
They spent the summer hours. 

The nimble Morning-glory 
Had soon outstripped them all, 

He climbed his trellis twice as fast 
As Ivy climbed his wall ; 

And in the early morning 

When he felt most fresh and fair 

Would swing a hundred clubs and bells 
At one time in the air ! 



29 



/IDountain*Xaurel 

" ORING me now those rosy lanterns, 

Let them be in clusters set 
'Gainst the dark wall of the woodland, 
Where its shades are thickest met ; 
Are they fashioned well and duly — 
Beaten work in boss and fret ? 
Starry angles measured truly ? — 
Master- workman 's clever yet ! 
Out of rosy wax and snow 
He has shaped the dainty things ; 
lyight them now, that they may glow 
Softly on our fairy rings 
When to-night the Feast of I/anterns— 
Hist — a mortal ! swift — to wings ! " 

Thus I overheard the mountain fays 
Chatting softly in the mid- June days 
Where I loitered 'neath the glossy bays. 



30 



St ?obn's»'Mort 

"117 ITCH and goblin, elf and sprite, 

Prick and prowl Midsummer's Night. 
Venture forth, they *11 plague ye sore, 

With their pricks and pranks assail ye ; 
Stay within and bar the door, 
Bolts and bars will not avail ye. 
Elf and goblin, witch and sprite, 
Mischief mean, this magic night. 

Only one thing will avail : 
There 's a plant whereat they quail ; 
Gold of flower and green of leaf. 

Sacred to St. John, they fear it. 
On your lintels bind a sheaf. 
They will not, to-night, anear it. 
For its golden stars have might 
31 



32 St, 5obn'B»-Mort 

'Gainst each goblin, elf, and sprite, 
In the Saint's name, born this night. 

Mark it well, this herb of power — 
Blade of leaf and edge of flower 
Show in dusky scars old pricks, 
Thickly set, of some malicious 
Elf, who, working vengeful tricks, 
Stabbed it through with art capricious ; 
For they hate it, herb of might, 
Witch and goblin, elf and sprite. 
Planning pranks Midsummer Night. 

3 



Mbat tbe Daisies XearneD at Scbool 

\17ITH their bright faces tied in their tidy 
white caps 
The Daisies went trooping to school, 
When they spied a young Iris who cried out : 
" Perhaps 
You will help me get out of this pool ! 
For I fear I shall find it too cool." 

' ' Now, Iris, we learned but a few days ago, ' ' 

The Daisies replied with regret, 
' ' That your great-great-grandame was a rainbow 
and so 

You ought to be fond of the wet ; 

Besides, it is foolish to fret. ' ' 

Then the Daisies trooped cheerily on in the sun 

While the Iris drew back in the shade ; 
She let the cold stream 'gainst her green gar- 
ments run, 
And she tossed her blue plumes as she said, 
" Just to think that a Daisy can't wade ! " 
33 



Clover 

A I^UIvLABY 

/^LOVBR, Clover, rosy rover 

Creeping all the meadow over, 
When I see thee shyly peeping 
Through the grass, amidst thy leaping 
Insect playmates, whilst there hover 
Bees anear thee, pink-cheeked Clover,— 
Then my gentle fancies claim me 
' ' Baby of the flowers ' ' to name thee. 

Sunshine loving, romping baby. 
Round about the meadow creeping. 
Just above the grass blades peeping,— 
Do the shades of evening stay thee ? 
Do I see thee nodding, may be ? 
'T is 07cr baby's time for sleeping, 
And the Katydids croon over 
lyullabys for her and Clover. 



34 



1berb*1Robert 

(robin du bois) 

* * O O W is it, shrinking herb, that thou 
Art named for Robin Hood, 
The boldest knave that e'er I trow 
Went roystering through a wood ? ' ' 

' ' And he went roystering through the wood 
In merry days agone, 
'T was I beside the way who stood 
And looked him upon. 

' ' I looked daily him upon 

And watched him draw the bow 
And speed the dart, with Little John 
And many a good fellow; 

" And when my Robin Goodfellow 
Went gayly faring by, 
35 



36 iberb*1Robett 

I 'd raise my sling of seeds and throw 
A valiant cast and high, 

' ' A valiant cast, so swift and high 
That he must note my deeds ; 
And joy, one day he did me spy 
And cried, ' Oho, the weeds 

* ' ' Are archers, too, the doughty weeds ! ' 
And loudly laughed he. 
* Now mark the little sling of seeds 
In sooth it shameth me ! 

' ' ' For my crossbow it shameth me ' ; 
He stooped him where he stood, 
' Wilt comrade mine and namesake be. 
Small Robin of the Wood ? '" 



Sweet peas 

A TROOP of gay butterflies lighted one day 

On a vine, and when, rested at last, 
They spread their bright wings and would fain 
be away 
Its tendrils, they found, held them fast. 

So they hung there and swung there and grew so 
content 
With their life of retirement and ease, 
That, were they set free now, I think they 'd 
consent 
To stay and be always — Sweet Peas. 



37 



Hretbusa 

A RETHUSA in the marshes, 

Thither fled from rash pursuing, 
Flushing, trembling, in suspense 
I^est I seek and drag her thence, 
Finds her beauty her undoing. 
Where 's the Alpheus would lose a 
Prize so fair as Arethusa ? 

Ah, but Arethusa pleadeth : 

" I had thought that unmolested 

In this poor bog Fate would spare me ; 

Mortal, seek not thence to bear me "— 
And my hand falls back arrested ; 

'T were an ill thing to refuse a 

Helpless maid like Arethusa. 



38 



Mater^Xll^ 

pAIR little ship with a hundred sails 

Spread abroad o'er your cargo of gold, 
One would think you had come from the isles of 
the East, 
Because of the spices you hold ! 

But you rock here at anchor from morning to 
night, 

With a fleet of green skiffs in your wake. 
And I see the long cables by which you draw up 

Your spices and gold from the lake. 



39 



MU& iRose 

O HY is she, this pink-cheeked maiden 

Peeping through the hedge, 
And I hesitate, flower laden, 
At the highway's edge. 

Should I seek to draw her near me. 

Grasp her robes of green, — 
She would fear me, she would spear me 

With her prickles keen. 

So I pass, content this fleeting 

Glimpse of her to see, 
And to breathe her fragrant greeting 

Wafted after me. 



40 



Blue*B^e^ (Brass 

'X'KLI/ me what it is you guard beside the 
stream, 

lyittle Argus with the hundred azure eyes ? 
For their mild and wistful blue doth scarcely seem 

To be challenging the passer, dragon-wise. 

Yet their watch, like that of old, knows no re- 
pose; 
If, outwearied through a long da5^'s sunny 
space, 
Here and there a tender lid should droop and 
close, 
Straight another, freshly oped, will take its 
place. 



41 



OTRAWBKRRY Blossom lived up on the hill, 
While the Cinque-foils, her cousins, 
Who numbered some dozens, 
Dwelt, much more obscurely, below by the mill. 

Contrasts were manj'- : the Cinque-foils, though 
poor. 

Were five-leaved ; she, triple ; 

And when as a cripple 
They feigned to regard her, 't was hard to endure. 

Snow-white my lady's fair face ; but what use, 

When a golfing Cinque-fellow 

Said : " Sun-browned or yellow 
Complexions alone were the up-to-date hues ' ' ? 

Fierce grew the feud, now of " runners " a jibe, 
Now of " sepal," now " petal," 
42 



Till straightway to settle 
The whole, spake the Rose, lovely Queen of their 
tribe : 

' ' Goodly ye both are in flower, leaf, and root ; 
But our sister a cherry- 
Red, spicy-sweet berry 

Possesseth to boot : 

Be ye judged by your fruit." 



3ewel«Mec5 

('roucH-MB-NOT—i,ADi:es' -eardrops) 

^ OI^DKN charms and eardrops, 

Pendulous and frail, 
Flecked with rich enamel- work — 

Are these gems for sale, 
Clustered where the shadows lurk 

Along the streamlet's trail ? 

Nay, by common purchase 

Never yet were bought 
Ornaments of gold like these, 

Delicately wrought ; 
Touch them, and their transient grace, 

Fading, leaves you naught. 

But, though none such jewels 

In her ear may wear, 
Though you pass and touch them not, 

You maj'-, henceforth, bear 
Ownership in this far spot 

And all the treasure there. 
44 



•ffnterlutJe 

A FULLER glow, 
A richer strain 
Of life than fills the bounding vein 
Of youth, these later days 

Of summer know. 
The heavy-headed grain 

Upon its stalks 
In ripeness sways ; 
The flowers their stateliest show 
Along the garden walks 
And in the fields maintain. 
So fervidly has burned 

The harvest sun, 
'T were slow discerned 
His goal is reached and turned, 
His backward course begun. 
For all this warmth and colour mock the thought 
That life thus at its fullest e'er could wane. 



45 



mm Carrot 

(my i<ady's i,ace) 

D ADIANT sunshine everywhere ! 

Now you '11 find my L<ady's laces 
Spread like frostwork, filmy fair, 
Over fields and open spaces 
For the sun to bleach and whiten 
As all lore housewifely pledges. 
Kach web wrought with daintiest care, 
See the tiny mesh-dots brighten 
Into wee blooms at its edges ! 
And the central symbol dark — 
Ah, that is my I^ady's mark, 
As her own the weaves attesting ; 
Thus (vain hope !) those thieves arresting 
Who might well, a store of laces 
Scattered temptingly in reach 
All about the fields and places 
Where the August sun shall bleach,- 
Think no harm to be molesting ! 

46 



(Barren %{l\cs 

A STATELY row of maidens tall 

Within my garden stood; 
And bowed their snowy foreheads all 
In gentle sisterhood. 

And often as I loitered near, 
In joy of their pure grace, 

Strains of a chant I seemed to hear, 
That breathed about the place. 

Perhaps their fragrance memories bore 

Of censers, gem-en wrought ; 
Perhaps their place in sacred lore 

Was lurking in my thought ; 

Howe'er it was, before my band 
Of choristers in white, 

I loved, at eventime, to stand 
And give my fancy flight, 
47 



48 0atden XI lies 

Till, like a row of beings blest, 
They seemed above me bent. 

And all grew peace within my breast, 
And comfort and content. 



tri^er Xtlies 

'T'HBRE were flames within the wood, 
As we rode that summer day ; 
Burning spots and flecks of fire 
On the slopes beside the way, — 
Showing here and there like blood 
'Gainst the sober green and grey 
Of the brake and tangled brier. 

And each tongue of scarlet flame 
Was a lily's heart of fire 

Burning out in love and hate — 
Smouldering hate and hot desire. 
Dew or shower may never tame 
That fierce hectic nor abate 
Its consuming, till, too late, 
With the flame the flower expire. 



49 



\ X 7E watched at night the falling stars ; 

And when, at dawn of day, 
Along the meadow thick besprent, 
These flecks of radiance lay, 

We scarce could think they had not come 
From out those shining showers, 

To flicker, yet unquenched, unspent. 
Stars in the grass, not flowers. 



50 



3Butter*an&»Baas 

/^UT upon the highway, in the August heat, 
Many country lassies one is like to meet. 
Bearing on their shoulders curious crocks and 

kegs 
Filled and brimming over with butter and with 

eggs. 

Groups of half a dozen stoutly trudge along. 
Balancing their burdens, standing straight and 

strong, 
On their way to market, Millies, Molls, and Megs, 
' ' Who will buy our butter ? Who will buy our 

eggs?" 



51 



(GHOST-PI,ANT) 

/^NB comes, at times, in some recess 

Of dimmest woodland bowers, 
Upon a group in ghostly dress, 
All mystery and loneliness, 

More Phantoms they than flowers. 

Close clustering, as they were cold. 
They glimmer through the gloom. 

In cowl and robe of straightest fold. 

As if new risen from the mold 
Of some long-perished bloom. 

What are they, novice nuns at prayer, 
With foreheads meekly bowed ? 

Flower-spirits, formed of snow and air ? 

Flower-saints, for j udgment waiting there 
Bach folded in Iter shroud ? 
52 



Whate'er they are, disturb them not ; 

Theirs is the woodland right 
To stand, unstained, in that still spot, — 
A single touch would leave a blot 

Upon their fleckless white. 



IRoUn anb Cbarlfe 

A 17" HO so mild and good as Creeping Charlie, 

Playing gently in his garden-bed ? 
When across the hedge in sudden parley 
Ragged Robin thrusts his tousled head. 

" Hi, you house-plant! ain't you alius wishin' 
You could join us other fellows some ? 

Here 's Joe Pye and I are goin' fishin' 
Down to Spatterdock's — d' ye want to come ? " 

If the yellow head was sagely shaken 

At the tousled red one, saw not I ; 
But I know the course / would have taken 

Had Rob asked me jogging staidly by. 



54 



'T'HK stately Lady Hollyhock 

Has graced my garden-bed for years, 
Sedately stiffened in a frock 
All frills and ruflles to her ears ; 
For at the fashions one may mock 
When one is born a Hollyhock. 

Her gay companions creep and twine, 

And riot in the summer breeze ; 
But she doth haughtily decline 
To join in common sports like these ; 
Such indecorum needs must shock 
A well-bred, well-starched Hollyhock. 

" Our family pride will not permit 

That we should bend or sway or sprawl ; 
We never care to loll nor sit ; 
One posture — the erect — is all 
Befitting our patrician stock." 
So spake my Lady Hollyhock. 
55 



Seawee& 

'T'HERB are gardens in the sea, 
Everywhere, 
More freshly fair 
Than any nurtured here by you or me. 
And along their rocky tiers 
Draped with growths of countless years, 
Ivovely mermaids, gold of hair, 
Like our maids for coquetry, 

For a maiden's hopes and fears 

Lightly float and flirt with gay mer-cavaliers. 

Kvery branch and leaf and stem 
Of these bowers 
Transcending ours, 
Glows translucently with colour like a gem ; 
And their fruits are bladder toys 
For the sportive small mer-boys. 
56 



SeaweeD S7 

And the tide with dreamy powers 
All those langurous lengths of stem 
E)ver ceaselessly deploys 
Out and in with rhythmic swing and sway 
and poise. 



Sunflower 

/^LYTIK loved the sun, they tell us,— 

Him they called the young Apollo — 
Stood and gazed and gazed, in Hellas, 

Where he climbed the sky's vast hollow, 
Turning east and west, with zealous 

E)yes, intent his course to follow. 

So it was not strange, that, going 
Forth to seek the lovelorn starer. 

They should find her rooted, growing. 
Nor from off the place could tear her. 

And departed, inly knowing 
That a busy world could spare her. 

Oft in some old garden spy we. 
Even now, a tall descendant 
Of the old-time crazy Clytie, 

58 



Sunflower S9 

Gazing at the orb resplendent 
Known no more as Phoebus mighty. 
From her sun-browned face (lest, pendant, 

They should check her ardent staring) 
She has pushed the tresses yellow. 

Till they form a halo flaring. 

'T is an old tale — if despairing 
Hearts for Clytie's plight grow mellow, 

Pray reflect how very wearing 
'T was for Phoebus too, poor fellow ! 



areat MiUow*1berb 

"\ 17 HERE once gloomy forests enshrouded the 
^^ land, 
Phcenix-like, sprung from their ashes, ye stand, 

Ye royal-hued blossoms and tall ; 
Stand in fair companies, stately and bright, 
On the slopes of the mountain and flush it with 
light. 
While ye point to the light over all. 

To the light far above and beyond the dim place 
That was meted for you at the mountain's broad 
base, 
Pointing steadily on and above ; 
" Stay not, press on," ye command as I pass, 
" Not thine the lot of the flower or the grass. 
The highest was set for thy love." 
60 



0reat Millow^lberD Si 

And the blooms slowly flicker and fade up your 

spires 
Like sparks, yet unquenched, from those long-ago 
fires 
Once blighting the fields ye have blessed. 
Till the last kuop and flower shall have flamed 

forth and died 
While the pearly-pink embers still pointing abide, 
I/ight my feet, fair flower-lamps, to their Rest. 



TCrumpet^jflower 

" A SCARLET trumpet lined with gold 
Must surely merry music hold." 

This thought occurred to Humming-Bird 
As here and there he poised and whirred ; 

Till, thrilling with desire to know 
If he this monstrous horn could blow, 

He darted near, — then nearer still, 
And, thrusting deep his slender bill, 

He drew from out the trumpet's throat — 
But turned to honey — its sweet note. 



62 



Betti? an& Susan 

OOUNCING Betty loitered idly 
On the dusty road to town ; 
Black-eyed Susan, trim and tidy, 
Chid her for her tattered gown : 

" See how soiled it is and faded ! 

Creep beneath the bars, my friend, 
In this field 't is clean and shaded, 

And your frock I '11 help you mend. 

Kindly Susan's plan refusing, 
Careless Betty made reply : 

" Oh, 't is vastly more amusing 
Here to watch the passers-by ! ' ' 



63 



Clematis 

A N August night ; our neighbour late 

In coming from the distant town 
Called out while passing by our gate, 
" The Milky Way has drifted down." 

Whereat we laughed incredulous. 

' ' Come, then, ' ' said he, ' ' and prove me true, ' ' 
And in the warm dusk showed to us 

What held his dreamy poet's view. 

It lay along the pasture bars 

And softly glimmered through the gloom, 
A mass of undistinguished stars 

A Milky Way in truth, — of bloom. 



64 



1Intei:lu&e 

XXT'HBN a monarcli would make abdication, 

He robes bim in splendour, 
And summons the peers of the nation 
Their homage to render. 
So the queen of the earth, 
Stepping down from her throne, 
With gorgeous apparel 
Is clothed upon ; 

And the way that she goes 
Is with crimson and gold overhung; 
And royal with purple 
The flowers ever loyal 
She passes among. 
Never fairer the scene 
Of her reign than when now she departs 

Through the splendour and glow 
Of a beauty whose joy in our hearts 
Is the legacy left by our queen, 

5 



65 



CarDinaWlowcr 

T N the marsh beyond the willows they have lit 
the ruddy torches 
That proclaim the Autumn's coming — budded 
brands that bloom in fire ; 
And the trees take up the signal flaming forth in 
gold and scarlet, 
And a silence wakes the humming of the mes- 
sage on the wire. 

'T is the pause of golden days before the scene 
shall be dismantled, 
A still carnival of colour ere the winter fasts 
austere ; 
And these glowing brands — the voyageurs of 
old, perchance more aptly, 
Named them "Cardinals " ; no duller robe may 
speak the blessing here. 



66 



BruneUa 

(hbai,-ai,i,) 

T^RUE, Doctor Brunella is awkward, 

His clothing is always awry, 
He fails to attract much attention, 
Because he is short and is shy. 

But he who to slight him refuses 
Finds delicate charm in his face ; 

And his fame as a healer of bruises 
Is dear to our poor, stumbling race. 



67 



/IDarsbmallow 

r PAUSED with foot uncertain 
Upon the marsh's brink ; 
A flower its petal curtain 

Of lovely roseate pink 
Was spreading j ust beyond my hand ;- 

Ah, "would I sink— 
Or could I stand ? 

" Why lavish here such splendour, 
O Mallow ? Why this sheen 

Of silken stuffs in tender 
Kmboss of rose and green ? 

Thus sumptuously a bog to grace ! 
To look a queen 

And brook this place ! " 

" And shouldst thou bear me thither, 
O Mortal, robes like these 

68 



/IDarsbmallow 69 

Of mine would crease and wither, 

My velvet prove but frieze ; 
None of us may but in her sphere 

Achieve to please, 
So leave me here. ' ' 



IFlasturtiums 

'P ROUPS of tiny warriors, 
Bound for conquest all, 
From their green encampment 
Start to scale my wall. 

Great round shields they brandish 

In their valiant hold ; 
Gay their curving helmets, 

Copper, bronze, and gold. 

Swiftly moving upward. 

Grasping anything^ 
See the bright-hued squadrons 

Sway and climb and cling ! 



70 



Closed Gentian 

r^AME Nature must have lisped one day 
To these closed buds some secret fair, 
Then given earnest charge that they 

Should keep her council with all care ; 
For, ever since, they seem to say, 

Through pursed-up lips — each purple bell- 
** Whate'er we hold of rich and rare, 

We '11 never tell, no, never tell ! " 

And, when I see this Momus-band 

Erectly grouped — a finger-tip, 
As from a green, encircling hand 

I,aid lightly on each tight-closed lip,— 
I 'd fain their caution understand. 

Yet if, some day, a weary bell 
Should yawn and let the secret slip 

Where I o'erheard, I 'd serve them well, 

And never tell, no, never tell. 



71 



Ubc Hstets anD tbe 6ol5ens»1RoD 

pIGHT wealthy is the Golden-rod, 

A very Croesus he ; 
The widowed, weeping Asters came 
To crave his charity. 

He gave them each a piece of gold, 
Yellow and round and bright ; 

They clasped it in their purple robes. 
And beamed their deep delight. 

Then Golden-rod with stately nod 
And glowing features cried, 

' ' Come every fall, and with you all 
My gold will I divide! " 



72 



Ube OviQin of the Cat^TTatls 

HTHK Cat-tails were holding their annual con- 
vention 

Of all local clubs, and they rustled and purred 
Of " heredity," " tendencies," " degeneration," 

And similar themes — far too puzzling to word ; — 

Till one slender Tail of pronounced peccadilloes 
Spoke thus : " Madame Chairman, I 've found 
out one thing — 
Cat-tails are evolved from the small Pussy Wil- 
lows 
That lived round this swamp in the long-ago 
spring ! " 



73 



Sea=!lLapen&et 

(rOSM ARINE — SE A-SPRA y) 

/\ A ANY a happy hour for me 

Here on the rocks at the end of the beach, 
With the sea's salt breath in my face and the 
sleet 
Of its spray, whose wind-fringed edges reach 
To this little plant at my feet. 
Ros-marinus, Spray of the Sea, 
I share the freshness of life with thee ! 

Many a restless hour will be 
In the sultry town ; let me garner the breath 
Of the brine, in plucking this herb — renew 
All the joy of the place that nourisheth 
Its mist-pale bloom in the soft sea-dew. 
Ros-marinus, Spray of the Sea, 
Be for remembrance, I pray, to me ! 



74 



H Xeaen^ ot tbe Xeaves 

A CHIEF whose life had failed in naught, 
Dying, of Manitou besought 

That, each twelfth moon, his tribe might come, 
Revisiting their ancient home, 

And through its forests roam at will. 
'T was thus decreed. And in the still 

Autumnal days, a noiseless throng 
Moveth, unseen, the woods among. 

And where the children pass, the low 
Glad bushes first are seen to glow. 

The while the squaws, who follow near, 
Have touched the sumac leaves to clear 

Red flame ; and youths and maidens brush 
The tender vines till straight they blush 

75 



76 H XeaenD of tbe Xeaves 

With love's own hue ; and then, anon, 
A crowd of braves come pressing on 

And at their, tread, like torches burn 
The maples ; but the oaks will turn 

To sombre beauty only when 

Their peers draw near — the ag^d men. 

Thus splendidly the forests glow 
With camp-fires lit to Manitou. 

And round the sky a low, soft haze 
Spreads, while we say "The golden days 

Of Indian Summer fill the land, ' ' 
Nor that we say half understand. 



/IDuUefn Uowers 

/^ OOD Mother Mullein's house is hung 

With warmest stuffs around ; 
Soft eider flannel clothes the walls, 
And woolly rugs abound. 

Her children in their nursery tower 
Are wrapped and swaddled deep 

In blankets, till their yellow heads 
Can scarce above them peep. 

And this in June and hot July ; 

No wonder in the fall 
The little Mulleins shake and cry 

And can't keep warm at all. 

And when their tower stands grim and bare 

Amid December's snow 
We know they 've gone to winter where 

The birds and sick folk go. 



77 



/IDilftweeb 

JWl ASTER Milkweed keeps a dairy 

By the river side, 
And above project his airy 
Storerooms, arched and wide. 

Here he stores his creamy cheeses 

Soft and smooth as silk, 
Thinks he '11 find them when he pleases, - 

But this magic milk 

Some fine day will change to fairies 

Who, on gauzy wing, 
Flying far, will start new dairies 

For another spring. 



78 



Ifnterlube 

'T'HE flowers have left their withered stalks 
And snow-encompassed lie the walks 

That once we gayly shared. 
A few green shrubs that dot the snow, 
Some gaunt-stemmed berries still aglow, — 

Else lonely have I fared. 

Now must we seek in bower or hall, 
Or from some garnered spray recall 

The themes to grace our rhymes ; 
Or find, in walks of wider range, 
New friendships beautiful and strange 

With flowers of other climes. 



79 



H 



Bittersweet 

OW potent is this clustered fruit 
To cheer the days when life is mute 
And frosts lie hoary ! 



For, in the scarlet and the gold, 
The wealth of June we still behold, 
And autumn's glory; 

And round the withered berries cling 
Faint odours, breathing of the spring 
A subtle story. 



80 



CKlamen 

'T'HK fairies were playing at shuttlecock 

In those plants by my window last night ; 
Up in the air the blossoms they knock, 
Up in the air a feathered flock, 
Crimson and rose and white. 

I could not see them, — they made no sound ; 

' ' Then how do I know they were there ? ' ' 
Because the dark spots on the leaves I have found, 
Where fairy feet scampered gayly around, 

And, see ! the flowers dance yet in air. 

6 



8i 



Uwo Xeaen^s of tbe ©ran^e Xlree 



\1 7HKN, long ago, in Ida's grove 

Venus for beauty's prize contested, 
And from the lovely twain who strove 
With her the golden apple wrested, 

Well pleased, the goddess took the tree 
That bore such fruitage into favour, 

Breathed on it grace and symmetry, 
And gave it blooms of sweetest savour ; 

* ' Henceforth, at marriage feasts, ' ' she cried, 
" Where I, love's patron, sit presiding, 

The flowers that deck the happy bride 
Shall be, O tree, of thy providing. ' ' 

82 



XTwo Xeoenbs of tbe ©ranoe Uree 83 
II 

Swiftly descending, 
Joyously bending earthward their flight, 
The Angel of Bridals' white pinions brushed softly 
A tree, as, low wending, 
They waved to alight. 
And straightway it burst into bloom. 
White, radiant ; with rarest perfume 
The glad air was laden ; 
The leaves of the tree shone with bliss. 
>Said the angel, ' ' A garland of this 

Will I bear to the maiden 

Whose pure heart I visit to-night. 

Thou, tree, as thy blossoming blessed 

Be thy fruiting, rich, golden, complete, 
That both as a symbol be mete 
Of the blooming and fruitage of love 
Quickened thus from above. ' ' 
Then onward the bright herald pressed. 



lellow jessamine 

/'^ lyOSE thronged palmettoes, live-oaks draped 

With waving veils of sad grey moss ; 
A tropic maze of things misshaped 
And shapes that show decay and loss. 
It saddens me, 
When suddenly 
A gleam of sunshine glints across. 

Only a slender thread of vine 

With clustered bells of yellow set, 
Yet where they twine, the palm and pine 
And tangled thicket their gloom forget ; 
And the place shall be 
In my memory 
The place where that fragrance of bloom I met. 

Some souls there are like the Jessamine flowers 
In the tangled maze of this life of ours. 



84 



Ube Ibi^mn of tbe palm^Uree 

p ESTlvESS the grace of the stately palm 
In these isles of the southern sea, 
For the winds of balm 

That are never at rest 
Shake ever the calm 
Of its feathery crest ; 
And the long plumes rustling ceaselessly, 
Whisper of ' ' mystery, mystery. ' ' 

Mystery brooding the centuries slow 
That builded these coral isles, 
Where the waters glow 

Through a sapphire range. 
And strange fruits grow 
From a leafage strange ; 
Mystery potent that life beguiles 
From the body of death with its age-long wiles. 
85 



86 Zbc Ib^mn ot tbe palm-XTree 

Sparkles the sky and the gem-like sea 
And rises the column slim 
Of the crested tree ; 

And the grace of it all 
And the mystery- 
Holds my spirit in thrall. 
And I grope for a voice in the rustling dim 
Of the wind-stirred palm leaves ; and this their 
hymn : 



THE HYMN 

' ' Toilers obscure 

Refuse not their task ; 
Obedience sure, 
Unwitting its goal, 

Essays not to ask ; 
They build to endure 
On the sites of the sea, 
Then die patiently 
With none to extol. 



Z\)c fb^mn ot tbe psdm^'Uvcc 87 

Cycles — a day 
In God's plans — pass away, 
lyO, beauty the crown of the whole ! 
I, the Palm, 
Sing the psalm 

Of the creatures who made me 
And beauty to be ; 
Thou, man, take their faith to thy soul ! " 



T 



Ipopples 

IS the time of the poppies ; 
The fields are aflame ; 
And looking down 
From the mountain crown 
The way whence we came, 
At the canon's mouth lie acres unrolled, 
Glowing and gleaming with molten gold. 

No clouds to pale them, 

No rain to dim 
The velvety gloss 
Of each cup's emboss, 
Perfect from rim to rim ; 
'T is a sun-blessed land that riots in bloom, 
Shadowless, fearless of storm or gloom. 

They tell of a tourney 
Of pomp and pride, 



LofC. 



poppies 89 

Of the furnishings 

Of a field where kings 
Splendidly vied; 
But what could rival in daj^s of old 
This Field resplendent of Cloth of Gold ? 

The far-off shining 

Of wealth like this, 
Was it that lured 
Men hither, assured 
Of treasure ? I wis 
'T were a goodly store, could their delving yield 
A tithe of the riches of this fair field. 



3BaI)^ Blue Bpes 

/^UT of the sand and the sun glare 
Into some shaded nook, — 
The fern-draped aisle of a canon, 
The sheltered ways of a brook, — 
And straightway, as lonely thus long without me. 
The Baby Blue Eyes come crowding about me. 

Deep as the sombre sapphire, 

Pale as the azure skies. 
Of a varying hue, but clear and true, 
Is the gaze of those innocent eyes ; 
And well might the bosom some wrong concealing 
Turn with a pang from their soft appealing. 

Thronging the steps of the stranger, 

Blossoms with eyes that bless, 
I stoop to your tender greeting 
As though to a child's caress ; 
And your weak little stem to my fondling lingers 
With the clinging clasp of a baby's fingers. 
90 



V\7 HEN the fairy elves and tlie fairy queen 

Polish the holly and give to its green 
The gloss and the glow of a Christmas sheen 
Its prickles do prick them sorely. 

But they weep not their wounds, they laugh in- 
stead, 
For the drops of the fairy blood they shed 
Are changed into berries round and red, 
To brighten the holly's glory. 



91 



Cberoftee IRose 

/^H, the rose that blooms at Christmas ! 

Have you seen its petals fair — 
Pure as heart of Mary Mother, 

Pure as maid or babe might wear ? 
Only lands that liken Bdens 

May its tender grace sustain ; 
Only lie its fragrant snowdrifts 

Where the snow has never lain. 

Happy rose that blooms at Christmas — 

At the season when on earth, 
Human hopes and aspirations 

Have a new and holy birth ! 
Oh, that these too might no frost-time 

For their pure unfolding know, 
But in hearts kept warm and faithful 

To a perfect beauty grow ! 



92 



/IDistletoe 

A SONG of the Mistletoe, oh, ho, ho ! 
Come hither, my lads and my lasses, 
And hang me aloft where the lights are aglow 
And the tides of the music and merriment flow ; 
There 's a toll from the first one who passes below. 
From the lips of the first one who passes. 

A song of the Mistletoe, oh, ho, ho ! 

'T is a plant that is olden in story : 
I decked for the Druid his victim's last throe, 
To Baldur a death-shaft I sped from the bow. 
Not a tribute that 's mine am I wont to forego ; 

Behold me, the Mistletoe hoary ! 

A song of the Mistletoe, oh, ho, ho ! 

Comes Yule-tide, then / am the master ; 
'T is a kiss from each lass, and the lads are not slow 
To gather my tithings for me, oh, no, no ! 
So what recks the night and the thick falling 
snow — 
We '11 feast, and we '11 frolic the faster ! 
93 



Bverlasting 

A FLOWER of pearl, it knows not change, 

But, plucked from off its native hill, 
Where sunlight bathes and breezes range, 
And thrown on places parched and strange, 
Its life and fragrance linger still. 

Thus dauntless, too, its kinsfolk are. 

That spring from out the snows and gloom 
Of highest Alps ; frosts cannot mar 
The ' ' noble whiteness ' ' of their star 
Nor check its constancy of bloom. 

And when " What image will you bring," 

My friend to me in challenge saith, 
" To liken to this deathless thing 
That heeds no winter, needs no spring ? " 
I make reply, " It likens Faith." 



94 



postlu&e 

IVrOW thanks to you, my comrade flowers, 

For all the joyance you have brought me, 
For all the lessons you have taught me, 
Through long and happy hours 
Of this blithe year. 

My love for you has wrought these verses, 
Whose vagrant course our way rehearses. 
As we have walked and talked together 
In fair or sombre weather 

And found good cheer. 

And somewhat in my heart presages. 
Since your bright names adorn these pages, 
However slight their further aim. 
They needs must gentle usance claim. 
Nor worthless quite appear. 



95 



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